By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"THE THREESOME"--WHEN LOVE TRIANGLES GO FULL CHAOS
At first glance
"The Threesome" from director
Chad Hartigan ("Little Fish") looks like your standard, quirky romantic comedy. Boy pines for girl. Boy meets new girl. Old flame crashes the party. Except in this case, the "party" turns into a spontaneous menage a trois and a whole lot of what are we even doing with our lives?
This chaotic little rom-com from screenwriter
Ethan Ogilby (TV's "The Simpsons"), stars Jonah Hauer-King ("A House of Dynamite" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer") as Connor a recording engineer who is still pathetically hung up on his former co-worker Olivia (Zoey Deutch, "Juror #2"), much to the delight of his snarky best friend Greg (a funny Jaboukie Young-White, "Companion").
Enter Jenny (Ruby Cruz, TV's "Mare of Easttown"), a "nice girl" who has been stood up at the local bar/restaurant and may or may not be going through a quarter-life crisis.
One look at Connor and she is open to chatting. One minute later, Olivia (Deutch) swoops in like a chaotic fairy godmother and bam, threesome talk is on the table before the appetizers even hit. What starts as a boozy night of poor decisions quickly turns into an emotional hangover when Connor finds out both women are pregnant and--plot twist--he wants to be in both kids' lives.
Here is where the film tries to get deep. Connor, Olivia, and Jenny all begin to reckon with their stunning lack of judgment, as the movie leans hard into the consequences of living rather recklessly.
The movie is awkward, surprisingly sweet at times, and occasionally feels like an unhinged therapy session disguised as a rom-com. Olivia remains unpredictable and emotionally unavailable, Jenny has truly come out of her religious shell--although she's terrified at what her parents will think of her now--and Connor tries to hold it all together with that wide-eyed "maybe love will fix it" energy. It doesn't.
"The Threesome" doesn't really have anything profound to say about relationships, responsibility, or the consequences of lust masquerading as love. But it's weirdly charming in its own clumsy, messy way.
You might not want to live in this world, but for 112 minutes, it's kind of interesting to watch this trainwreck roll by.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the
Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station
KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"THE THREESOME"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards).
